By Brandon Williams / September 26, 2023
Overwatch 2 was the #1 worst-reviewed game on Steam from early August. Many players were disappointed with the changes, such as the abundance of monetization, unsatisfying progression system, insufficient content, and lack of dev support. Blizzard was even forced to break some of their promises for PVE content and hero customization.
Recently, another competitor has quickly stepped up to take the #1 shameful title from Overwatch 2. NBA 2k24 is currently fighting for the right to be the most shamed game on Steam. While Overwatch 2 has a score of 1.02 with 11% positive votes, NBA 2k24 is catching up with 1.08 with 10% votes.
Expensive NBA Editions
Like every other modern game, NBA has multiple editions, which include expansive perks. There are two editions available for purchase – Kobe Bryant and Black Mamba Edition. Kobe Bryant edition is the standard game priced at $69.99.
Take-Two was the first company to support the higher price tag for next-gen consoles starting in 2020. During an interview for NBA 2k21, Take-Two Interactive CEO, Strauss Zelnick, visualized the higher price tag as “the quality of the experience.”
The other version is the Black Mamba Edition. This special version is priced at $99.99 with additional items. This edition includes 100K virtual currency, MyCAREER content, and MyTEAM content. Some bonuses are expendable items that raise buffs for players to grind in the game.
| MyCAREER Content | MyTEAM Content |
| -10x 6 types of MyCAREER Skill Boosts -10x 3 types of Gatorade Boosts -2-hour Double XP Coin for MyCAREER -3 Kobe Bryant T-Shirts -1 Sabrina Ionescu T-Shirt -2K24 Backpack -2K24 Electric Skateboard -2K24 Arm Sleeves | -15K MyTEAM Points -2K24 MyTEAM 5-Player Option Pack Box -10 Box MyTEAM Promo Packs -Sapphire Kobe Bryant Card- 1 Diamond Shoe Card- 1 Ruby Coach Pack -2-hour Double XP Coin for MyTEAM |
The major issue is how the Mamba edition gives a much higher advantage compared to the standard edition. Mamba edition allows players to customize their ideal team at the start, whereas the standard edition requires grinding games to get the same level of progress. The special edition even comes with buffed EXP and stat boosts to make the grinding easier.
What’s worse is the PC version. The game is released on PC and all consoles, including next-gen and previous-gen systems. The game does allow Sony and Xbox consoles to upgrade to the next-gen version, though PCs can’t. They’re stuck with the previous gen version, despite having better specs.
More Monetary than Fun NBA
Everything in the game revolves around Virtual Currency (VC). VC is used to buy character upgrades, improving their OVR stats and levels. The simplest way to earn VC is by playing basketball games. Another way to get piles of VC is by buying them in the store.
NBA battle pass, league pass, has been integrated into NBA since 2k23. The entire pass is free, though it can be upgraded to a Pro pass and Hall of Fame pass for more special perks.
There are two tiers of rewards. The free section includes rewards for MyCareer and MyTeam while the premium section unlocks more variety of upgrades and VC. Each level up will earn a reward for MyTeam, MyCareer, and premium (if applicable).
Purchasing the $9.99 pro pass will unlock the premium tiers and also 2 more rewards for each of MyTeam and MyCareer. Purchasing the $19.99 Hall of Fame pass will unlock the pro pass perks and include a 15% exp boost, 10 level skips, and 1 extra reward. It is possible to upgrade from a Pro pass to a Hall of Fame pass through the season rewards menu. Additionally, there’s an option to purchase a level skip for $1.99.
Players have to grind to complete the league pass at level 40. This can be accomplished through MyTeam and MyCareer. The season lasts about 6 weeks. When the season is over, the unclaimed rewards will disappear. There won’t be an option to buy rewards from previous seasons in an online store unlike Fortnite and other online games. Players are forced to grind to claim the rewards they want or else they’ll lose them forever.
Lack of New Content and Anti-Cheat
The current-gen 2k24 version is about 110 GB, while the next-gen 2k24 version is over 160 GB. The next-gen version is bigger than Starfield, yet NBA 2k24 adds very little to the new installment. The only major change is Mamba Moments, which lets players play as Kobe Bryant in different scenarios. Accomplishing different challenges will give rewards based on the 3-star rating.
It isn’t an entirely new mode since NBA 2k23 has a similar mode, featuring Michael Jordan. There’s no special content, fun game modes, or anything else innovative. Everything else is pretty much the same, especially the menus.
The game’s system is abusable with its lack of an anti-cheat system. The game is riddled with bugs and glitches. Players have to use level-stat basketball characters to face each other in online games. Sadly, players can easily hack the game to raise their characters’ stats to the max. It’s impossible for other players to handle the max-leveled cheaters. With how easy it is to cheat, it’s difficult to avoid them.
Another issue is how the system leans towards pay-to-win. There’s an option to purchase bundles of VC for leveling up characters quickly. VC can still be earned in-game, yet players earn so few coins during the long grind. The upgrades are very expensive, which forces players to choose between playing for weeks or buying the bundles with thousands of VC.
Top 3 Shameful Game
NBA 2K24 is the ideal image of the worst video game design. It’s not even worth being called the next NBA installment when there isn’t anything to make it unique.
Its only purpose is to favor the 2K corporate representatives with its heavy dose of microtransaction and battle pass. There’s no reason for players to purchase anything since it won’t get carried over to the next NBA game.
NBA 2K isn’t about sports anymore. It’s only about who has the better gear and money to spend.
